Reasons Why I Like You
by Fitz 98
Summary: From experience, Lily Evans knows that liking James Potter is different than liking other boys. Yet, James has no experience with liking other girls and he knows that his feelings are different, too.


**Reasons Why I Like You**

Words: 699

"I hope you don't mind, I hope you don't mind

That I put down in words

How wonderful life is now you're in the world"

-Ellie Goulding, _Your Song_

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><p>Liking James Potter was different than liking other boys.<p>

Lily Evans had fancied other boys. In fifth year, Remus Lupin was made prefect with her. During the hours spent patrolling hallways, Lily harbored a crush on the smartest, sweetest Marauder. Sixth year, she had liked heart-throb Amos Diggory (along with every other girl in her grade).

Liking James Potter was different than those boys. Her practical side said it was because he was handsome, without trying, and smart, even though he skipped too many classes. He was the best of both Remus and Amos. Her practical side also said it was the way he treated her and the way he made her feel. He treated her as if she were a princess, even when others said she didn't deserve to step foot in their kingdom. He made her feel safe, without losing his sense of adventure.

But for once in her life, Lily Evans wasn't listening to her practical side.

She liked the way James was always on her left side, so she could still use her right hand. She liked it when James told every single one of his teammates 'good job' after Gryffindor scored a goal. She liked the roses left in her room after they argued, because he knew she liked her middle name better. She liked the way he pushed his glasses up his nose when he was concentrating on an essay. She like the way he would never back down from a fight. He would stand up for whatever he believed in until the very end.

James Potter was thoughtful, caring, forgiving, smart and stubborn. Anyone could have told her that. They had, actually, she hadn't been listening. It was sometime during sixth year when she noticed the little things he did, she saw the real James Potter.

Liking James Potter was very different than liking other boys, because once she saw the real James Potter, she fell in love. Now if only there were a way to convince James that she didn't hate him…

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><p>Liking Lily Evans was different than liking other girls.<p>

At least that's what James Potter thought. He hadn't ever liked another girl though, so he had nothing to compare his feelings with. But he saw the way Sirius and Remus and Peter acted around the girls they fancied, and it was entirely different. Sirius Black would make the girls swoon over his looks, and would like them for the night. Remus would wait until he was certain she felt the same, then ask her on a date, and then avoid her to "protect her." Peter didn't believe anyone could like him. None of the girls had lasted more than two months.

Liking Lily Evans was different than liking other girls. In third year he liked her, and he never stopped. It lasted far longer than two months. He know she was The One. He could list a million reasons why she was The One. She was smart. She was kind. She made him better. No other girl could compare to Lily.

But if you asked James Potter for one reason why he liked Lily, he would say, "because she isn't perfect."

A fifth-year James Potter would have given you a winded explanation as to why Lily Evans was the most perfect creature to exist on this Earth. But that was the same James Potter who pranked first-years and skipped every Divination class. This James Potter had grown up. He saw things differently now. He saw war and injustice and people's true colors.

Lily Evans was a muggle-born. She stayed up too late studying. She cared much more about others' happiness than her own, sometimes to the point where she wouldn't notice her own unhappiness. Her room was too neat. She didn't think she was pretty. The only attention she liked was getting an answer correct in class, any other attention was unwelcome (especially extravagant date offerings). When James finally noticed all of her imperfections, he saw the real Lily Evans.

Liking Lily Evans was very different than liking other girls, because once he saw the real Lily Evans, he fell in love. Now if only there were a way to convince Lily not to hate him…

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><p>Thank you for reading, reviews welcome!<p> 


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